The Associated Press claimed Monday that the Justice Department had secretly collected two months worth of telephone records of around 20 reporters and editors from the news agency. The agency's CEO, Gary Pruitt, obviously outraged at such a breach of privacy, called the activities a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into the agency's operation and information "that the government has no conceivable right to know." In a letter, he further emphasizes that their actions are a "serous interference with AP's constitutional rights to gather and report the news."The Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder, meanwhile, are in a very sticky situation. Their only response as of now has been that federal investigators only obtain phone records from news agencies after making "every reasonable effort to obtain information through alternative means." However, they have failed to disclose the reason for the probe into the AP phone lines. Back in 2012 Holder announced investigations of leaked specified state secrets, however, this AP probe seems to be pretty unrelated to the subjects of those investigations, leaving a pretty questionable justification of the probe.
Now it seems that everyone, including myself, are waiting for the justification that the Department of Justice is going to come up with. No matter what they claim as their reason for the probe, however, it is going to be very questionable, and will almost certainly draw tons of criticism from the public, the AP, and the rest of the government. So what are all of your reactions? Is probing into a wide range of AP phone calls acceptable in order to try and find a source leaking confidential information, or is such an action an unacceptable abuse of power under any circumstances? Just how unconstitutional is such a probe - Does it violate the First Amendment Freedom of the Press, or will you be satisfied with their actions under certain circumstances? If so, just how serious a threat must be posed in order to warrant such a probe?
3 comments:
Regardless of the situation, this phone tapping business is entirely unacceptable. If they really have tried every other possible method, they should have to prove that too, because that doesn't seem like quite the likely story. Like the PATRIOT ACT, this is just more executive power abuse, and unlawful intrusion into the people's lives. I don't believe there is really any scenario in which investigation without so much as a warrant is ever okay, but I'd still like to hear what they have to say.
I have to agree with Smita on principle, but I can see situations when the government has to bend the law to achieve objectives. While I can understand that the government sometimes has to use secrecy and questionable means in order to protect the country, track down terrorists, etc., this intrusion of privacy is a huge step past the line. The Justice Department has given no justifiable reason for why the Associated Press reporters' telephone records were collected without their consent or knowledge. This seems a bit too "Big Brother" like for my taste.
I'm not sure what the Attorney General means by "every reasonable effort" but the Justice Department should try to save face now by apologizing fully for their unconstitutional actions and working to diffuse the situation now. Obviously, the First Amendment from the Bill of Rights clearly provides the freedom of the press. Thus, the rights of the Associated Press reporters ought to be protected in such situations.
Again, I would not become so extremely driven to say that there is never a situation when abuse (which already has a negative connotation) of power is unacceptable. For example, in times of war the government should be allowed to deceive the press or have greater regulation over business to maximize its ability to combat the enemy. But since this is during a relatively peaceful (arguably) time, the probe is unacceptable. Unless there is a conspiracy of reporters trying to bomb the White House or something similar,this is a serious threat to liberty.
I don't quite think that the Justice Department's phone tapping violates the first amendment because they aren't banning any governmental criticisms or personal opinions from being published and shared with the public at large. However, now that the Constitution encompasses an implied right to privacy, I feel that that is where this whole situation becomes a bit complicated. Before reporters are reporters, they are American citizens, and their personal information has the right to be kept to themselves.
It seems that the White House has always had trouble with people getting inflamed about having their phone calls listened to (as was seen during the Bush presidency, Nixon Presidency, and incident with Robert Kennedy planting bugs into Martin Luther King Jr.'s home), and part of this could be because the wiretapping has not yet produced any results that really made our country safer. Although I personally would like to protect my right to privacy, if there was any chance that a little eavesdropping could save a couple thousand or a couple million people, then perhaps it could be overlooked. As Rory said, more opinions on the current incident with the Associated Press will have to come after the Justice Department explains their reasoning. It all depends on the magnitude of the danger that was suspected to be going on.
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